A Telepath and a Timelord
by greg.white.5
Summary: Castiel Grey is just a normal seeming guy, who gets accidentally picked up by the TARDIS and thrown into a wild ride with Clara and the Doctor. But he and the Doctor have a history, and he is certainly more than he seems.
1. Chapter 1

Cas had just stepped through his front door when he heard it. His heart beat a little faster as he looked around himself, seeing nothing. Strange. That was definitely the wheezing noise the TARDIS always made.

Just as he was considering shrugging it off as a mistake on the part of his hearing, everything around him changed. Bit by bit, a new room materialised where his living room was. It was one he recognised, although it had changed.

As it came fully into focus, he took a moment to look around. The walls were silver, instead of the orangey brown he remembered, and the central console was much more organised. He also took a moment to stare at the contraption on the ceiling, covered in symbols that he recognised but could not read.

Movement across the room caught his eye and he turned, seeing a girl approach. She was short, and young, with brown hair and eyes, and very pretty. Cas decided to speak.

"It's been a while old friend," He said casually, "I see you've changed again, and into a girl this time. It looks good on you." He wandered past her, one hand idly on the console, and continued, "Where are we off to this time then?"

The girl looked confused for a moment, then seemed to pull herself together, and stepped towards him. "Oh...sorry, no I'm not...it's just he's...I'm Clara. Clara Oswald." She stuck out her hand.

He shook it gently, an amused look in his eye, and said, "My apologies, I assumed as you were the only person in the console room that you must be the Doctor. I would now guess you are his current travelling companion. Is he around?"

"Um, sort of," the girl named Clara replied slowly, "Sorry who are you?"

"Oh how rude of me, my name is Castiel Grey, I'm an old friend of the Doctor's." He paused looking thoughtful, "Although depending on when in his timeline this is, I'm not sure how old."

At that, Clara looked down for a moment, her features taking on a sad look, and said, "There's something wrong with him." Her eyes closed, in pain or fear he wasn't sure, and she added, "I panicked...after he was hurt, I got him back to the TARDIS, and managed to use the telepathic circuit to get us away, but I don't know where she brought us, and the Doctor won't wake up. I just wanted some help."

Her eyes were filling with tears as her voice became almost hysterical, so Cas calmly stepped forward, gently placed his hands on her upper arms, and firmly said, "Take me to him."

The girl nodded, eyes wide, and walked down a set of stairs towards one of the doors. He followed silently, apprehensive of what he would find. After a couple of twists and turns, they came to what looked like a medical bay, and he saw him.

"This isn't a face I've seen before." He said absently as he stepped closer. "Can you tell me what happened to him?"

"I'm not completely sure," Clara told him quickly, "We were in a little market on a desert planet I can't remember the name of, and these local guards told us and everyone else in the square that something had crashed outside the city and to be careful."

Cas nodded and she continued, "You seem to know the Doctor, so it won't be a surprise that he wanted to go have a look. We were about half a mile into the wilderness when a horrible noise pierced the air. I thought my ear drums were going to burst, and when I looked at the Doctor...he looked absolutely terrified. I've never seen him like that, he's normally so in control of things, but back there he completely lost it. Then there was a shadow above our heads and the scream got quieter, but the Doctor fell to the ground, and ever since then he wouldn't wake up."

He nodded along, looking thoughtful, and softly asked, "Did you get a good look at it?"

She shook her head, "Just a quick one as it flew away. It looked like a plane, or a spaceship, dark and spikey, and on the front I thought I saw a giant face, like a baby but gruesome and all in black...but that can't be right."

Cas visibly recoiled, shooting a worried glance at the Doctor, and just said, "Leave it to me."

He pulled up a chair at the head of the surgical table the Doctor was laid out on, placed a hand on either side of the older man's face and closed his eyes.

As Clara waited, and the minutes ticked past in silence, she took a moment to appraise the man she had just met. He was tall, similar in height to the Doctor, with jet black hair and a slim build. He was wearing a black suit, with a white shirt and no tie. He looked to be a similar age to her, but his features had a strangeness to them, like they weren't entirely human. She wasn't surprised by it, all the time she had spent with the Doctor had made her almost numb to the presence of aliens around her, but this felt different somehow.

As her idle thoughts continued, he dropped his hands from the Doctor's face and slumped in his chair. Clara stepped towards him, and said, "What did you do? Is he going to be okay?"

"I connected to his mind, as briefly as I could, to see if I could pull him out of it. If I'm right, he should wake up soon."

Clara swallowed, "How soon is soon?"

He shrugged, "5 minutes? 10 years? I'm not sure." He frowned, looking at her in concern.

She tried to look like she wasn't worried. He shook his head softly.

"It's okay to worry, I can see you care about him a lot. If you like I could drop you home, and stay with him until he wakes. I'm sure he'll pick you up again once he's okay." He smiled reassuringly, but she couldn't help but protest.

"Why would I leave? You said he's going to be okay."

"Do you want to spend 10 years of your life waiting for that though?" He replied in a serious tone.

"Maybe," she said stubbornly, "By that same logic, why should you stay with him?"

"I don't...age quite like most people," he said with a smirk, "10 years is a nap to me."

Her eyes widened in surprise, "I thought there was something different about you," she breathed softly, "Maybe you're right, I should visit my family, and I have work to go back to. Just promise me you'll bring him back to me when he's better."

Cas nodded, leading her back to the console room. As they walked, she asked, "What was it I said that made you look so freaked out earlier? The Doctor did the same face before he was attacked."

Cas stopped, looking thoughtful, before turning to face her and saying, "What do you know of the time war?"

Clara couldn't help an involuntary quiver of fear at the mention of it, "A bit, the Doctor has told me some, and I did see a bit of it once."

"I am sorry you had to witness any part of that monstrosity," Cas replied quickly, giving her a tender look, "I was there, at times, and it was the worst hell ever conceived by creation." He shuddered, "Did the Doctor ever tell you about a being called the Nightmare Child?"

She shook her head, and he continued walking. She hurried to catch up, and asked, "What was it?"

He didn't answer straight away, seeming to weigh his words, and said, "A weapon, created by the Deathsmiths of Goth for the Dalek Emperor. It is a living starship, with the mind of a child and all the hatred of the dalek race. It can kill you just by looking at you, and it's war cry is deadly. And worst of all, it is uncontrollable. The daleks lost control of it very quickly, and it killed their leader, Davros. After that it went rogue, destroying any and all who tried to stand against it, no matter what side they were on."

He paused as they reached the console room, and Clara prompted, "So what happened to it?"

Cas looked over at her and smiled slightly, simply saying, "The Doctor."

Before explaining, he started flipping switches and pushing buttons on the console. Clara heard the engines whir to life and was momentarily stunned. This man fought in the time war, and could fly the TARDIS. Who was he? She hoped the Doctor could shed some light when he woke up.

Cas pretended not to notice her confusion, and carried on his explanation. "As you know, the Doctor is an amazing man, capable of many things. He flew his TARDIS into the inner shell of the Nightmare Child, and placed a bug in there. The bug increased the creature's already unhealthy appetite for violence and destruction, and the Doctor led it on a merry chase across the stars. He stole a great deal of information from the Timelord High Council about what had previously occurred during the war, and manipulated it to his needs."

"What do you mean, how do you manipulate something that's already happened?" Clara asked without thinking, regretting it when he gave her a pointed look.

"It was a time war, think about it. The Doctor was the king of interfering in established timelines. He flew through that war like a ghost, and both sides feared him."

"Back to the Nightmare Child. With the information he had taken, he deliberately and meticulously went to every battle that had gone in the Daleks' favour. Everytime the Timelords lost, or were disadvantaged, he appeared, and the Nightmare Child followed. It was a bloodbath, millions died on both sides, not to mention the casualties caught in the cross fire, but it evened out the state of the war."

"So he hoped it would get itself killed in one of these battles then?" Clara asked dubiously.

"No, that creature is nigh unkillable." Cas told her casually as he carried on moving round the console. He stopped at the telepathic circuit, pushing his fingers in and closing his eyes. He carried on speaking, "The Doctor was just getting the best he could out of a bad situation. He didn't bank on the Daleks attempting to harness a black hole as a power source, much like the Timelords' own Eye of Omega. He flew right into the heart of their main fleet surrounding the black hole, and the creature, when it attempted to follow, got sucked in." He shrugged, "And that was it. Gone. After the Daleks lost their attempted power source, they decided instead to move their entire armada to Gallifrey, hoping to take the planet by brute force. And that, as I'm sure you know, is when the Doctor used the Moment to wipe them all out."

"Actually he didn't," Clara replied softly, stepping up beside him. His eyes snapped open, turning to face her, and she was shocked by his expression. The strength of his gaze seemed to burn into her, his liquid grey eyes radiating emotion.

"What do you mean?" He said after a moment.

"It's a long story, but the Doctor found a way to save Gallifrey and destroy the Daleks as well."

Cas shook his head, "Surely such a thing is impossible, even for him. How did he do it?"

"He used...um, I think it was called a stasis cube?" She saw the look of recognition on his face, "Yeah that was it, he brought all of his different selves together, each with a stasis cube in their TARDIS, and it just vanished."

His eyes widened. "That is genius!" He shook his head in wonder, "Even by the his normal standards, that is incredible."

Clara smiled at his wonder, but saw a tear gathering at the corner of his eye, and asked, "What's wrong?"

He wiped it away, "Nothing, I'm just happy the Doctor isn't as alone as he thought."

As he turned away, she placed a hand on his arm, and said, "I've been with the Doctor long enough to know when someone is hiding something. It's okay, you can tell me."

He didn't answer straight away, pulling his hands free and walking towards the door. She followed, and he opened them to reveal her house. She didn't step out, instead looking at him expectantly, and he eventually spoke.

"I helped the Doctor steal the Moment on Gallifrey, and I've always felt guilty about my part in helping him destroy his own people. Knowing he didn't do so is a great relief."

She looked momentarily surprised, and said, "How did you mange that?"

He gave her a cocky half smile and just said, "I have certain...abilities that came in very handy. Now, off you go. I'll come and get you when he wakes up."


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey folks, I hope you liked chapter 1, I wasn't sure if I was going to make it a one shot, or carry it on, but given the number of followers it has generated already, I think I'll do something like a series of one shot TARDIS adventures with the 3 of them, and see where it ends up! Here's chapter 2, enjoy**

* * *

><p>Chapter 2 – Allons-y?<p>

Clara was walking home from work, humming a nameless tune, trying to distract herself from the worry that had hung over her for the last month. What was taking the Doctor so long? Even if it had taken a few years for him to wake up, as that guy had said, the TARDIS could have still come right back to the same spot. She frowned, once again worrying that this would be the time he didn't come back for her.

She carried on walking, lost in thought, and her head smacked straight into a solid flat surface. She grunted in pain and rubbed her forehead, cursing herself for not looking where she was going. When she looked up again, she gasped. It was the TARDIS, right in the middle of the street, and she had walked straight into it. She swallowed nervously as the doors opened.

She stepped inside, looking around apprehensively, and her eyes fell on the Doctor, standing by the console with a serious expression. Part way round the room, staring intensely at a screen, was Castiel, the man who had apparently saved his life. She stood in the doorway, waiting, and finally the Doctor spoke.

"Close the door Clara," he said in that deep Scottish voice she wasn't quite used to yet. "Cas tells me that I owe you my life, yet again. That's good, I knew I kept you around for a reason." She rolled her eyes, and Cas looked at the Doctor with a raised eyebrow.

"Is he always like this?" The other man asked wryly.

"Nope," Clara quipped, "He's being extra nice today."

They shared a grin and the Doctor looked slightly confused.

"I didn't hear the TARDIS land." Clara said, changing the subject, "I walked straight into it actually, thank _you_ very much. Where was the wheezy noise?"

The Doctor's eyes dropped and he looked mildly embarrassed, saying nothing. Cas spoke up.

"I landed her. She isn't meant to make that noise, he always leaves the handbrake on." He inclined his head towards the Doctor, before adding, "His lovely wife actually taught me that trick. Of course, he wouldn't even entertain the idea."

"I like that noise." The Doctor protested.

"You said that last time my friend."

The Doctor shook his head, looking unimpressed.

"We have a bigger problem I'm afraid. Cas and I have been talking, and I've decided that this monster needs investigating. It could be nothing, but if it escaped the Time Lock, others could have followed." He looked from Clara to Cas. "I'm sure I don't have to tell you what that would mean."

Cas visibly shuddered, and he nodded.

"Right then." The Doctor said quietly, turning to face the console. "Off we go."

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><p>Clara folded her arms in frustration. The Doctor was about 20 feet away, running his sonic screwdriver over a piece of junk. Every few seconds he would give a frustrated sigh, then stomp over to another equally unassuming piece of junk and resume scanning.<p>

"Something the matter?" Clara jumped as Cas spoke from just beside her. "Sorry, did I scare you?" She looked up at him; he had an amused smirk on his face, and she gently slapped his arm.

"No! Although you might want to stop moving around so quietly, it's a bit weird." She responded sarcastically, before turning distractedly back to watching the Doctor, "It's been 2 weeks...2 weeks of empty battlefields and piles of junk, and we've had no sign of this monster. I'm not sure he really even knows what he's doing."

Cas nodded thoughtfully, rubbing his chin, then said, "I think you're right, he's grasping at straws. Somehow though, I feel there is more to your downcast demeanour than just that."

She didn't answer immediately, but he waited, and finally she gave a small sigh and said, "He's been so different since he last changed. He thought it bothered me that he's older now, but it really doesn't. It's something else." She paused, looking sad, and continued, "He's just not as...I mean he's started to...he's just become..."

"...an arse?" Cas filled in with a smile, causing her to laugh softly and nod. "Yes, he does seem to be a lot of work this time. It's very strange, the circumstances under which he regenerates can sometimes dictate the personality that the new form. What was it that happened, if I may ask?"

She paused, as if weighing her words, and then looked him in the eyes and just said, "Trenzalore."

Cas showed no visible reaction, but she could tell there was a storm of emotion going on inside. All he said in reply was, "Oh."

He then swallowed, rubbed the back of his neck nervously and added, "He was supposed to die there. I imagine he was fully prepared to do so, and he must have been angry, both at the futility of the conflict that occured there, and of the chance to save his people that he missed." He sighed, "It's hardly surprising that he's a bit more...aggressive than he was."

"You seem to know a _lot_ about him." Clara said, eye him sideways with suspicion. "If you didn't know which version of him this was, but you knew all about what happened to him on Trenzalore...you must know him in the future. I mean, _his_ future."

"You're quick. I can see why he's so attached to you." The sly smile was back, "I also know more about you than I let on I'm afraid. I know you have as much if not more of a connection to Trenzalore as he does. I met a version of you during the Time War you know, you were a gallifreyan soldier. You died saving thousands of lives, including The Doctor's and my own, by suicide bombing a stolen Dalek ship into the side of the Command ship of the Dalek Emperor himself."

He turned to face her, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It may not mean much, but I want you to know that while he may not show his appreciation for you as often as you might like, but I am incredibly greatful to you. Without you, neither of us would be here today. Thank you."

Clara was touched, she hadn't expected such a sudden display of earnest emotion. She wasn't sure what to say, so she opted for her usual confident with a hint of sarcasm, and put on a devilish grin, saying, "You're welcome, you can make it up to me anytime."

She turned and started back towards the TARDIS, and a question popped into her head. "How old are you?" She asked curiously, "I mean, you said you don't age like normal people...and you've known the Doctor for _ages_."

He moved up beside her, keeping pace as she walked, and replied, "Very old, I'm actually older than him." He pointed a thumb over his shoulder.

"No you're not." Came the thick Scottish voice from closer than Clara expected. He strode past them with a piece of scrap metal in his hand.

"Is that so? What age are you now?"

"Somewhere over two thousand." The Doctor replied absent mindedly. "I lose track, but I spent 857 very boring years in a town called Christmas."

Cas whistled softly, then leaned towards Clara and stage whispered, "Okay, he's older. I'm ninteen hundred and twelve."

She blinked at him, "But you're human! Aren't you?"

"Yes, I am human." He replied calmly.

"And you're a timetraveller too right? Where are you from originally?"

"Actually I've only time travelled with the Doctor." He told her matter of factly. "I was born on earth, and lived my entire life there. I'm from your time at the age I am now."

"So you were born...where exactly?"

He laughed, "So many questions, hasn't anyone ever told you curiosity is dangerous?"

"I've heard it a couple of times, but I never really listened." She replied wittily. "Go on, I wanna know!"

"I was born in Rome, in 102AD, although given my age and the fact that you and I are from the same time period, you could really have worked that part out."

"Wow, erm, what was that like?" She hesitated, not sure how to react.

"Cold, and hungry." He replied, turning stony. She frowned in confusion, and decided to stop asking.

They reached the TARDIS just after The Doctor, and he ran up to console, pulling wires from a variety of places and sticking them to the debris he had been carrying. As the two approached, he was reading the scanner screen and pushing buttons, muttering to himself.

Cas gave Clara a glance, and just said, "I think he's going to be a while, shall I take you home?"

She just nodded, and watched as he stepped past the Doctor, pulling a lever and bringing the engines to life.

* * *

><p>They stepped out of the TARDIS doors together, and Clara realised they were outside her flat.<p>

"How did you know where I live?" She asked suspiciously.

"You told me." He replied quickly.

"I think I'd remember telling you where I live." She shot back, the suspicion still in her tone.

"Not out loud. I heard you think it when I mentioned taking you home."

"You heard me what?" She spluttered.

"I'm a telepath." He said as if it were obvious. "Did you not wonder how I saved the Doctor when he was comatose?"

She swallowed, "Okay...so you can read my mind...that's a bit freaky. Any other powers I should know about?"

He raised an eyebrow. "A few," he replied candidly. "Another conversation for another time."

She shrugged, pretending it didn't bother her, and he chuckled. "Sorry, you can't hide your burning curiosity from me. I will gladly share my secret with you, but perhaps not right now, okay?"

She nodded, "Okay. So we'll see each other again then?"

"Of course. Before I leave you to your evening, I just want to say that I understand how hard it can be trying to travel with the Doctor and then live a normal life around it, especially given how difficult he can be to talk to at times. If you ever need someone to talk to about it all, I'm around."

He handed her a business card, and added, "I know it must seem old fashioned, given the time travelling, but give me a call if you need me."

"Maybe I will." She replied with a smirk. "Just to talk, you understand."

"Of course," he agreed, matching her smirk, "Goodnight Clara."

She gave a small wave, and walked up to her front door. After digging out her keys, she turned back around, and he was gone.

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><p><strong>Shorter chapter than usual, but I hope you enjoyed it. Feel free to leave me a comment if you have any criticism, or ideas for further adventures!<strong>


End file.
